Blueberry Coffee Cake

I woke up this morning and decided I'd like to start my day smelling something delicious baking in the oven.  I've made this recipe before,but it's been a few years, so when I started reading the ingredients I cringed just a little bit at the thought of adding a chunk of shortening to my breakfast repertoire.  Hence a tasty but edited version of this coffee cake was born!

There are a number of substitutions I implemented in this recipe, including almond milk in place of regular, coconut oil for the shortening, honey for some of the sugar, and demerara sugar in some of the crumbly topping for added flavor.  Truly I think you could just whip this up however you'd like.

Here is the base recipe with my substitutions.  Feel free to experiment with the types of sugars, oils, etc., as well as the berries.  You can add a mixture of fruits (I've done blackberries with blueberries and strawberries before) or just stick to one.  I honestly just go by what's in my fridge at the time I feel the urge to bake this.

Serve the cake warm with coffee for brunch, as a dessert with some decaf brew, or just munch out midday.  Happy Fall!

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Printable Version

Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Garden's The New Cookbook

Makes:  8-12 servings     Takes: 1hr 20 minutes total (45-60 bake time)

You Need:

• 2 C all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 C coconut oil (or butter, or shortening, 1:1 substitution)*
• 3/4 C sweetener (I used 1/4 C honey with 1/2 C unrefined sugar)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 C milk (almond milk worked just fine)
• 2 C fresh or frozen berries (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc.)
• 1/2 C sugar (needs to be granulated of some kind e.g. raw, refined, demerara, etc.)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 butter, kept cold!

*If using coconut oil, make sure it's cold so that it hits the same consistency as the shortening would be.  I measured mine and threw it in the freezer for 5 minutes while completing Step 1.

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease bottom and half inch up the sides of an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan*.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2.  In another medium mixing bowl (if you have an electric mixer like a KitchenAid, use it here), beat coconut oil (or sub) with an electric mixer on medium for 30 seconds.  Add the 3/4 cup sweetener and beat on medium to high speed until light and fluffy.  Scrape the sides of the bowl!  Add egg and beat well.  Alternate between flour mixture and milk into wet mix, scraping the bowl as you go and beating after each addition.

3.  Spoon batter (it should be fluffy and almost like biscuit dough, see above photo) into pan.  Sprinkle with berries.  In the old flour bowl, mix together 1/2 cup flour, the 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon.  Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the cold butter until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle coating over the berries.  Bake for 45-60 minutes or until golden*.  Cool slightly, serve warm.

*Start checking it at 45 minutes, seeing if the batter is springy and the sides have pulled slightly away from the edge of the pan.  If using a darker pan, the cooking time will be lower.  Lighter pans cook for slightly longer, and glass pans insulate well so the cake will continue to cook even when pulled out of the oven.  If using glass, put parchment paper in a cross in the base of the pan and grease it.  This way you can lift the cake out and let it cool on a cooling rack.